Global Payroll Controller

Adyen•San Francisco, CA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Adyen provides payments, data, and financial products in a single solution for customers like Meta, Uber, H&M, and Microsoft - making us the financial technology platform of choice. At Adyen, everything we do is engineered for ambition. For our teams, we create an environment with opportunities for our people to succeed, backed by the culture and support to ensure they are enabled to truly own their careers. We are motivated individuals who tackle unique technical challenges at scale and solve them as a team. Together, we deliver innovative and ethical solutions that help businesses achieve their ambitions faster. At Adyen, our people are our greatest asset. Our unique company culture attracts the smartest individuals who thrive on taking initiative and ownership, contributing directly to our rapid growth. We believe in empowering our team members, providing the freedom, opportunity, and ownership necessary for them to reach their utmost potential. We are looking for a hands-on and strategic Global Payroll Controller to join our dynamic Payroll team within the Finance function. This role is an opportunity for a flexible, financially-minded professional to navigate a global landscape. You will not be siloed into a single country; instead, you will manage a mix of in-house processing and outsourced vendor partnerships across the Americas. As a Payroll Controller, you will be instrumental in coordinating payroll for (a selection of) our 20+ entities globally, working closely with our external payroll providers. You'll report directly to the Global Head of Payroll in Amsterdam and you will be based in our San Francisco office. New phase: You’re joining us at a pivotal moment. As a team, we are moving away from manual, reactive work towards a future of scalable, automated solutions. Your role provides the essential stability and accuracy that allows our team to function as a strategic partner to the wider business. We want people who are inspired by this shift and ready to help us build a world-class financial platform.

Requirements

At least 5 years of experience in payroll.
A solid grasp of payroll accounting principles and the General Ledger.
Flexibility and the ability to thrive in an environment where processes are not always set in stone.
Comfort switching between different operating models and regions.
Natural curiosity and the ability to dig into details to understand the root cause of discrepancies.
Eagerness to learn how complex mechanisms (like shadow payrolls) work.
A global mindset, thinking beyond your office.
Cultural awareness and flexibility to work across different time zones when the business requires it.
Collaborative and communicative nature.
Readiness to jump in and support colleagues during peak times.
Ability to work across timezones.
Strong preference for experience with Workday and the Workday payroll module.
Natural aptitude for systems and eagerness to learn new tools.
Experience (or a strong interest) in how payroll impacts the P&L and Balance Sheet.
Proactive nature; spotting errors before they happen and speaking up when a better way to do things is identified.

Responsibilities

Be hands-on in preparing and executing payrolls, focusing primarily on the US and other countries in the Americas. This includes validating inputs, managing data flows, and thoroughly reviewing the output from our global vendors to ensure 100% accuracy before payment.
Be a champion for data integrity and system efficiency. Identify manual inefficiencies and design and implement scalable workflows that connect seamlessly with HR and Finance workflows.
Be a business partner to our HR and Finance teams. Actively manage external payroll vendors to ensure they meet our high standards.
Be a point of contact for our colleagues. Handle payroll-related queries with empathy and speed, helping employees understand their pay-slips situations.
Bridge the gap between Payroll and Accounting. Be responsible for the General Ledger (GL) journals, month-end reconciliations, and variance analysis to ensure our books match our bank.
Have experience with US multi-state payroll tax withholding.
Actively research and monitor evolving local tax requirements and proactively implement changes to ensure we remain compliant before issues arise.